The White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat
by HawaiianLei13
Summary: An AU I thought up. What if Green Arrow never found Artemis? What if the Crock family stayed together, for better or (mostly) worse? What if Sportsmaster forced his children into the family business? Good and evil were never just black and white. Also, Dick Grayson friendship goals. Villain!Artemis
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi! This is my first YJ fic, so sorry if the characters are OOC. Hope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.**

AJAJAJ

Artemis rolled over and slammed her hand against the sleep button on her alarm. She let out a low groan, but she knew she had to get up sooner or later. She practically flopped out of her bed, landing on the hardwood floor. Artemis's gaze shifted to an old Alice in Wonderland poster, hanging lopsidedly on the wall of the small room. What she wouldn't give for the old days, when dad was still in prison and mom wasn't in a wheelchair and it was just her and Jade against the world. Speaking of Jade, Artemis's sister's black mane of hair peeked above the sheets on the bed across from her.

"Ugh. A, will you be quiet?", Jade grumbles. The sisters started referring to each other as A and J as a sign of friendship after they saw it on tv. Artemis and Jade had stuck together through thick and thin, and even their themed costumes reflected that.

"Sure, J." Artemis and Jade don't know why they are always so tired in the morning, as their mother is seemingly never tired. They don't think it comes from their father either because they've seen him drunk, angry, happy, but never tired. Of course, villains never get tired, much less the Sportsmaster.

Artemis was still lying on the floor, clinging to the remnants of her warm haven. Under her bed, she can see a Nike shoebox. The shoebox doesn't need a label because Artemis knows what's inside. The White Rabbit costume.

Once her dad got out of prison, he cared even less about his children then he did before. He had started In order to keep the Sportsmaster from completely taking over Lawrence Crock, Artemis and Jade became Cheshire and White Rabbit. Artemis worried, though. What if the White Rabbit persona started taking over Artemis like Sportsmaster had her father? Where did the supervillain begin and the teen end? Artemis rolled herself up and left for the bathroom just as her father stormed into her room.

"What are you doing, Jade? Get up!". Jade got out of her bed quickly, not caring as her sheets spilled across the floor.

"Don't be lazy. You don't have time for naps! Get on your costume. We're going to train.". With an 'okay, okay', Jade pulled her shoebox out and flipped it open, revealing her Cheshire mask.

"Sometimes I even wonder if he's worth trying to save," Jade mumbled once he left.

AAAAAA

Artemis cracked open the bathroom door, watching the heated argument between her parents.

"-and I can't let you treat them like that!". Something must be bad. Artemis never heard her mother raise her voice like that.

"They're fine!"

Her mom became quiet. "Please, they need a real father."

Sportsmaster's eyes gleamed and a slapping noise filled the room. He stormed out and Artemis and Jade rushed into the living room. Jade had her Cheshire costume on, and Artemis was in her Gotham Academy uniform. The sisters helped their mother back into her wheelchair. They shared a nod, and Artemis knew the plan. Jade would try to calm Sportsmaster down and Artemis would go to school. Their mother would be fine.

ADJADJ

At Gotham Academy, Artemis could barely pay attention in class, she was silently venting so much. When lunchtime came, Artemis looked forward to venting to her best friend, Dick Grayson. The two had stuck together because they were both misfits (Artemis being here on a scholarship and Dick being adopted). Of course, she always screened her angry words as to not give away her secret identity.

She walked down the hall and was met with a shove. Artemis fell to the ground and silently began to pick up her things.

Don't fight back, remember what J taught you, Artemis reminded herself. The kid jeered a name at her, walking away.

Artemis looked up and came face to face with Dick. He had short raven hair and blue eyes. Eyes that had fire in them now.

"What did they call you?", he practically growled.

"Dunno. Knowing them, probably something about my amount of wealth.". Dick looked confused.

"Scholarship kid, remember?", Artemis elaborated and stood up.

"You know Barbara Gordon, right?"

"Um, yeah, I know Babs. Why?"

"J's friend's boyfriend's brother wanted to give this to her." Artemis handed Dick a small piece of paper that she had carefully typed.

 **To the Bat:**

 **1:37, Cordyline Jewelers.**

 **Don't let him get away with it.**

No one slaps Artemis's mother.

"Do you know what this is?", Dick asked after reading it twice over.

"No idea. I think it's for Commissioner Gordon.".

"Huh.".

The rest of the day passed quickly, the two friends speculating what was going to happen at 1:37 after Dick passed the note off to Barbara. Artemis already knew. Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and White Rabbit were going to steal some diamonds. Artemis knew how much her dad hated it when a superhero showed up in time to try and stop them, so this was her payback for him slapping her mother. They sat on the steps after school ended. Usually, Artemis and Dick would hang out until Alfred, Dick's butler, picked Dick up. Afterwards, Artemis would run home.

This time, however, Alfred offered to drive Artemis home, and she was about to decline but Dick gave her his best puppy dog eyes (seriously how does he even do that? He has freaking sunglasses on) and Artemis conceded.

The silent ride gave Artemis time to think while she whittled away at her math homework. Was giving the Commish a tip a good idea? What if her dad found out? It was too late now, anyway. Artemis absentmindedly wondered who the Bat would send in. It probably wouldn't be another leaguer, because Cordyline Jewelers was in Gotham and Gotham was the Bat's turf. Most likely, the Bat would come himself, probably dragging Robin along with him. Artemis had heard of a new team of heroes, one made out of sidekicks. Maybe they would attempt to stop her villainous family (minus her mom). Artemis scoffed at the idea. She bet that after a mission the leaguers took their sidekicks out for ice cream. The closest thing to a gift that Artemis had ever gotten was a bowstring that doubled as a garrote (a weapon for strangling people), given to her right before her father was arrested. Who even gives their child a weapon made for assassinations?

The jerk of the limousine stopping brought Artemis out of her thoughts. After a quick goodbye to Dick and Alfred, Artemis stepped into the apartment she called home.

She kicked off her shoes and went into the bathroom to brush her hair. Artemis stepped in to see Jade leaning up to the mirror, putting makeup on her face. Jade tried to turn away, but it was too late. Artemis had already seen the purple bruise on her left cheekbone.

"J, what happened?", Artemis asked hot-headedly.

"Nothing, A."

"J…", Artemis warned.

"Dad happened, A.", Jade reluctantly admitted.

"We have to get out of here, J."

"No. A, we can't. We can't leave mom with dad."

Artemis grasped for a solution. "Mom can get a restraining order! We can move out!"

"A, has breaking the law ever stopped dad before?". Jade asked, wrapping her arm at her sister and pulling her close. Artemis already knew the answer. She leaned into Jade. A long night was ahead of them.

 **AN: Review! pls! The button is right there!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Went to Seattle last week! So, this chappie takes place after** ** _Welcome to Happy Harbor_** **but before** ** _Drop Zone_** **. Sorry if anyone is OOC and h** **ope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.**

TATATA

The team assembled in the center of Mount Justice. The newly formed team consisted of five teens, who had just started to figure out how to work together. In fact, they were only about to receive their second mission. Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Miss Martian were all in varying states of sleepiness, whereas Robin was as awake as ever. Times like these made the team marvel at Robin's Batman-like resolve. A large screen with Batman on it flickered to life in front of them.

"I have a mission for you.".

Wally instantly regretted the words that flew out of his mouth. "It's one o'clock!"

Wally could swear that Batman shot him a look when he said, "I know. As part of your training, you should be able to handle stopping crime when it is late."

On a screen, a picture of a crumpled note and the criminal file of Sportsmaster flared up at the team. The abridged file said,

 **Sportsmaster**

 **Age: 53-56**

 **Name: Unknown**

 **Status: Active**

"I received a tip today and have reason to believe that Sportsmaster is planning to rob Cordyline Jewelers in Gotham.".

Robin answered the silent question of how Batman knew it was Sportsmaster from just one vague tip. "All of the Gotham crazies are either in Arkham or would make a big scene. Any others don't steal from ordinary jewelry stores at 1:37. It wouldn't fit their MO. That leaves Sportsmaster and Catwoman, but the note says 'Don't let _him_ get away with it.'"

Batman gave a small nod and continued, "And wherever Sportsmaster is, Cheshire and White Rabbit are not too far behind." Two more files appeared next to Sportsmaster's. The first had a blurry picture of a girl in her late teens, wearing a mask that vaguely resembles a smiling cat. She had black unkempt hair, and was wearing a green ninja-like robe. Two katanas were strapped across her back. Blue text was next to the picture.

 **Cheshire**

 **Age: 17-18**

 **Name: Unknown**

 **Status: Active**

The second file had an equally blurry photo of a younger girl. She had blonde hair that was loose, and a white half-mask with rabbit ears on it. Her outfit was a white jumpsuit with gold lines crossing it. In the picture, she was leaping into action with a bow. The caption said,

 **White Rabbit**

 **Age: 14-15**

 **Name: Unknown**

 **Status: Active**

"I am sending Robin the coordinates. Batman out.".

The team surveyed the files. M'gann looked at White Rabbit's and said, "I do not understand. Why would a villain be so young?"

Kaldur responded, "I do not know, but she _is_ a criminal.". He did not seem too sure.

The team made their way to the bioship and boarded the red spaceship. M'gann piloted, and Kid Flash and Robin sat on the left, Superboy and Aqualad on the right. The ship glided to a stop on top of a building near Cordyline Jewelers.

 _Linking us up_ , Miss Martian's voice rang through their heads. Superboy's brow furrowed, but he kept his cool. A hole appeared in the center of the craft and the five jumped out. The hole closed behind them and the bioship disappeared, blending in with the night.

 _This is your city, Robin, so I believe you should lead this mission_ , Aqualad said (thought?).

Robin nodded like Batman did in the mountain, and it reminded the team exactly who's protégé they were working with. _Follow my lead._ By the time the team turned away from the edge of the building, Robin was gone with an eerie cackle.

After a few moments of confused consent, the team stationed themselves around the store, and waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, Miss Martian caught sight of two figures exiting the shop. The silhouette flipped out of a trapdoor on the top of the building with unnatural ease. The second silhouette was a man's, and he jerkily climbed what appeared to be ladder. He had a duffel bag over his soldier.

 _I have eyes on two of them_ , M'gann sent out.

 _Cheshire and Sportsmaster_ , Connor grunted. He flew at them (well, jumped, but that's besides the point) and attacked. Cheshire sidestepped the teen, her eyes widening in surprise. Superboy turned on her, but Cheshire flipped over her partner and Conner came face to face with Sportsmaster. The team jumped into action from there, M'gann chucking objects at the thieves with her mind and Kaldur going after Cheshire. Wally and Robin were about to run after them when an arrow lodged itself into the wall in front of them. They whipped around to see White Rabbit, crouched on a rooftop across from the shop, bow in hand. Robin cursed himself for forgetting that she would probably be there too.

The villains split up, fighting the teens on different sides of the building. Sportsmaster stayed on the roof, dodging Superboy's attacks. Cheshire had flipped down the fire escape onto the right side of the building, and was cartwheeling around the blades made of water that Aqualad wielded.

Upon closer inspection, the arrow that was now in the wall had a black cable attached to the end. It pulled taut, and White Rabbit pulled out a small white machine shaped like a sideways 'L', about the size of her hand. The criminal slapped it onto the rope, and began to zipline down to the left side of the building, towards Kid Flash and Robin.

Robin flicked open a batarang and cut the rope. The girl was already halfway down, and let go of her line, hitting the ground in a somersault. Kid Flash ran towards her, punching at superspeed. Robin couldn't step in or throw any batarangs, the two were moving around too quickly.

"So, why do they call you White Rabbit? I'm not seeing a pocket watch or anything.", Kid Flash bantered. White Rabbit managed to dodge and block most of the punches. Kid Flash's posture changed for a split second, and being the seasoned fighter that she was, White Rabbit caught the roundhouse kick aimed for her face.

The villain's voice was modified, making it sound slightly robotic. "Because of my knack for timebombs." Robin could see her wince under her mask as she twisted Kid's ankle sharply, and he heard a snap. "And quick escapes."

White Rabbit backflipped on top of a dumpster, and Robin skidded next to Kid Flash, who was laying on the ground, his ankle twisted in a grotesquely wrong direction.

"Mm fine. Broken ankle." Kid Flash slurred, pushing himself into a sitting position.

 _Guys, I need backup. Kaldur and Connor are down. Cheshire hit Kal with some sort of darts, and I think Sportsmaster has kryptonite._ M'gann's voice made Robin jump a little.

 _Wally is down too._ Robin responded.

 _Is he okay?_ Worry bled through M'gann's thoughts.

 _Just peachy, beautiful._ M'gann pretended not to notice when Wally slipped into unconsciousness.

Robin turned back to the task at hand, giving White Rabbit his best bat-glare.

"What are you going to choose, capturing me, or saving her?" White Rabbit jerked her head at the shop. Through the window, Robin can see a security guard tied to a marble column. A bulky vest is on her, and he saw a timer running down.

 _Shit. White Rabbit did say something about timebombs_ , Robin thought. Robin sent her one last glare and ran towards the store, crashing through the window. White Rabbit flipped up a fire escape, and disappeared.

Robin focused on disarming the bomb, ignoring M'gann's warning about the criminals getting away.

 _00:00:34_

He tore off a cover and picked through the wires.

 _00:00:21_

Robin cut a wire, but the timer kept running down.

 _00:00:14_

He scrambled to the other side of the knocked-out security guard and popped off another part of the vest.

 _00:00:06_

Cutting more wires, Robin started to panic.

 _00:00:01_

He couldn't give up. Not like this.

 _00:00:00_

Then something extraordinary occurred: nothing.

What had just happened?

 **AN: So, I found it hard to believe that Cheshire cares so little about Artemis in YJ, so I changed that for my AU. Also, anyone else super pumped about YJ season 3 coming up? Remember, reviews are imagination fuel!**

 **ps. I need a beta. Anyone interested?**

 **\/**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Yaaasss! I just found out that the Fox/X-Men deal ended! Anyways, I'm not sure whether or not I want this to be Spitfire, Birdflash, Snaibsel, or whatever, but I'm aiming for a Gen fic. There might be some background Supermartian tho. Also, big thanks to** _sydhaa701_ **,** _strangerways0_ **, and** _Guest_ **.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned YJ, I would be doing much better things, like, for example,** _ **not making us wait so long for a third season!**_

 **Now, here's a little Artemis &Dick friendship fluff. Sorry if the characters are OOC, hope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.**

DDDDDD

The next morning, Robin woke up in Mount Justice. He was briefly confused, but remembered that the team had all opted to just stay at the mountain overnight. He slipped into civvies (plus sunglasses, of course) and stepped into the kitchen. Over the kitchen island, he could see Superboy was watching his favorite show, kryptonite had stunned Superboy, giving Sportsmaster time to trip him and escape, which was what M'gann had seen. A few seconds after Miss M sent her message, he was right as rain. Robin made a mental note to explain the expression to the clone later. Kid Flash and Aqualad sat in armchairs with blankets, eating chicken soup. Miss M was whirling around the kitchen, fixing the two (not very) injured boys more things to eat. For a moment, raw panic hit Robin when he looked at a clock, and it said 9:12. He was so late for school!

 _Don't worry, Robin. Batman said that we could have the day off from school,_ M'gann stopped him quietly.

"Welp, I'm going to go to the Batcave. See ya later!", Robin chipperly announced. Wally and Kaldur jumped when Robin spoke, as they didn't realize he was there. Wally muttered "Jesus, Rob.", but the ninja had already disappeared to the zeta tubes.

DDDDDD

When Dick Grayson got to his bedroom, he saw that his phone had twenty-two texts. He groaned inwardly, because Bruce doesn't let him bring his normal phone on missions or to the mountain (It might get tracked). Dick flopped on his huge bed and started scrolling through the texts. Not surprisingly, they were all from Artemis, starting at around two o'clock.

 _2:19 am_

 _A: dick im bored_

 _what r u doing?_

 _DICK ANSWER MEEEEEEEEEE_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _dick_

 _2:33 am_

 _A: omg i just caught J texting some guy_

 _imma ask her who it is_

 _she totally has a secret boyfriend. Totally._

 _no one blushes that hard when asked who there texting unless its a secret boyfriend_

 _J may deny it, but i kno_

 _kno anyone named Red?_

 _of course not cuz Js so paranoid that the have futzing codenames_

 _see u tomorrow_

 _8:13 am_

 _A: jesus dick where r u_

 _u cant condemn me to going thru this hell called 'school' alone_

 _8:35_

 _A: omg mrs. smith almost caught me texting u_

 _shit my heart is beating so fast_

Dick laughed and sent her a text in response.

AAAAAA

Artemis was in English class when her phone discretely buzzed. She checked to make sure the Mr. Rowan, her teacher, was lazily sitting behind his desk, grading papers and opened it up.

 _9:13_

 _D: hi_

 _A: geez I was starting to get worried_

 _D: nah bruce let me have the day off_

Artemis wished that she had Mr. Wayne as her dad instead of her own dysfunctional one. Before she had met him, Artemis thought that Mr. Wayne was just another snotty Richie Rich III, but the first time she went over to Dick's house, Mr. Wayne had made a point to get to know her. Every time that she stayed over for dinner, (which didn't happen very often because of Artemis's 'night job') Mr. Wayne had eaten with them, and initiated conversation. Also, Alfred the butler's cookies were amazing, so that earned him brownie points too. _He_ , Artemis thought, _was a good father because he actually cared_. Artemis silently sighed went back to texting.

 _A: oh._

 _D: so what about 'Red'?_

Glad for the change of subject, Artemis launched into a tirade about the events of 2:33 in the morning.

 _A: omg so last night I caught J texting a person named Red and I jokingly asked her if it was a secret boyfriend and then she went quiet and I was like omfg it actually_ is _a secret boyfriend_

 _D: lol_

 _A: yea no more news on the front tho_

 _D: everything ok?_

Why did Dick have to ask such questions?Artemis had vented about her 'rocky relationship' with her dad to Dick many times. Apparently, enough times that Dick checked in every once in a while. However, Dick just assumed that her anger was from a shouting match or two.

In reality, things were very bad at home. When Sportsmaster, Jade, and Artemis had gotten home, Sportsmaster had grabbed her arm and thrown her against a wall because he thought that she purposefully crossed the wires in the timebomb so it wouldn't actually go off (well, she did, but it wasn't like she was going to tell her supervillain father about her good intentions). Jade had stepped in, and received a bloody nose for it. At least her mother wasn't awake at the time. That would have just made things worse.

Last night (this morning?), Artemis did catch Jade texting 'Red', but unlike what she told Dick, Jade had kept her composure and told her that Red was a contact to add onto their fallout plans. Artemis still had her reservations about the secret boyfriend thing, though. The fallout plans were an incomplete web of ideas and assets that Jade and Artemis had put together in case something really bad happened. That something involved Sportsmaster.

So Artemis did what she did best. She lied.

 _A: yea, why wouldn't it be?_

ATATAT

The next day, Artemis and Dick sat and chatted on the steps of their school together, as per usual. This time, Artemis was happy for the end of school, because this time Dick had set up a picnic with his dad's associates' children. Dick promised it would be fun, and Artemis was more than happy to have an excuse to escape her home for a couple more hours.

Artemis was so inwardly excited that she tied her hair up with her good-luck-bowstring. Yes, the bowstring that doubled as a garrote. At least if she got kidnapped in her civvies, she could take a couple people down with her. Irrationally, it made Artemis feel safe, and she wore it in her hair or around her wrist sometimes as a good luck charm. Not that she would tell anyone. She kept on her school uniform, but Dick had changed into normal clothes before they left. He was weird that way sometimes.

Alfred dropped the teens off in the entrance of the park.

"See you later, master Dick, Miss Crock.", he called from the driver's seat, with a curt nod to each of them.

"Bye, Alfred!", Dick called, and the two friends made their way to the field.

On the field, Artemis saw four teens that were about her age. Dick appeared to be the youngest of the whole group, but he tended to have older friends because he had skipped two grades. There was a girl sitting on a blanket on the hillside, fiddling with a classic picnic basket. She had red hair, and was wearing an alarming amount of pink. Artemis guessed that she was babied by her rich parents, so she was dubbed 'princess'. Next to her was a boy with dark skin and buzzed blonde hair. Standing up were two other boys throwing a football back and forth across the field. Closer to the pink girl was a boy with black hair. He was really buff, and strangely reminded her of Superman. Artemis didn't like Superman, unlike the football guy, who wore a t-shirt with the S-shield-thingy. Artemis kept walking, and the backtracked. Football guy just threw the ball about ninety yards!

"That's, like, NFL level good!(1)", Artemis exclaimed to Dick.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, he's really into that stuff."

The ball soared, and a redhead with unkempt hair raced after it, missing the ball by an inch and crashing to the ground at Artemis and Dick's feet.

"Oh, hey Rob.", the redhead said to Dick while still on the ground. Artemis quirked an eyebrow.

"Rob?", the blonde asked. Dick just gave an eerie cackle-like laugh in response. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Honestly, Artemis had felt that feeling of deja vu the whole time she was on the field. Artemis just sighed and put her hand to her forehead in annoyance. There was a point where one would just stop being confused by Dick's strange shenanigans and pranks, and Artemis had crossed it a long time ago.

"So, you guys are his dad's friend's kids?". Artemis jerked her thumb to Dick.

Dick elbowed the boy, who was now standing up, and he said, "Um, yeah, our friend group is the elite of the elite.(2) I'm Wally, by the way."

Artemis rolled her eyes and laughed, "'Kay, Baywatch."

 **AN: Yea! This is going better than I hoped!**

1: Guess who did their research! (I literally know nothing else about football)

2: That's a slightly edited quote from Baywatch, so Arty can still call him Baywatch without the zeta tube scene.

 **Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys! This one takes place (No duh) during** _ **Drop Zone**_ **. If you have any suggestions for like the plot and stuff, send 'em in!**

 _ **strangerways0**_ \- Thanks! I tried to fix the comma thing in this one. I'm glad the texting part was good. No one ever texts me :'(

 _ **Mistycharming**_ \- Thanks! We'll see...

 **Disclaimer: Yes… I totally own YJ… totally...**

 **Sorry if anyone is OOC and hope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.**

DATDAT

Dick wasn't sure what, but something was off with Artemis. He just guessed that maybe it was because Artemis didn't particularly like rich people. Generally, that type of suspicion was common among Gothamites.

When she had first met Bruce, Artemis had been on edge the whole time. When Bruce opened his mouth to talk, Dick could practically see Artemis building walls around herself. Dick was the only person she opened herself up to, but he got the sense that she kept secrets of her own.

M'gann had gone on and on about Earth culture, so what better way to teach her than to set up a picnic in Gotham and invite Dick's earthling friend? M'gann called everybody to the meal, jerking Dick back to reality.

"Hi. I'm Artemis," Artemis smirked a little, "Rob's friend."

"It's so nice to meet you! I'm Megan." M'gann squealed.

"Hello. My name is Kal." Kaldur shook Artemis's hand, and she raised an eyebrow as if to say, _What type of teenager shakes hands?_

"Connor." Connor grunted.

"And you already know Wally." Dick finished. Dick nicked a sandwich off of the platter that M'gann had set out, and rest of the teenagers followed suit.

"Sooo. You like Superman?" Artemis asked Conner while munching on a BLT sandwich.

An "Eh." was all the response she got.

Artemis gave a dry laugh and said "Me too."

A couple minutes later, Artemis could no longer stand the silence. She looked around for ideas and set her eyes on a basketball court.

"Hey, let's play basketball!" she volunteered. The group stood up and walked over. Artemis picked up a ball and dribbled it between her legs.

"You guys are in for it. Artemis is the best." Dick chimed in happily. Artemis set the ball down and took off her vest. She rolled up her sleeves, and everyone stared at the big purple bruise on her forearm.

The girl's eyes followed the group's line of sight, and she paused for a moment, then laughed "Oh! The funniest thing happened to me yesterday. I-" Artemis was cut off by an obnoxious ringtone.

Her expression flicked to a mixture of panic and dread for a second, but it was gone in a moment. Dick and Wally were the only ones who saw, Dick being trained to pick these things up and Wally being able to slow down his perception. They shared a look as Artemis picked up her phone.

"Hey dad." she said, apprehensive.

The group couldn't hear what her father said, but Artemis winced and said, "I told you that I was hanging out with-"

"O-okay. I'll come home."

Artemis turned back to the confused and worried teens and put on her usual smirk.

"Sorry guys. I gotta go. Guess I'll cream you all in basketball later."

She waved and grabbed her vest, running through the park.

"Wow, she kinda reminds me of you." Wally said to Dick.

AJAJAJ

At 8:27, Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and White Rabbit arrived via helicopter at Santa Prisco. The wind from the helicopter blades whipped White Rabbit's hair around, but she stayed still and stood like a sentry on the left of Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster was a step in front of Cheshire and White Rabbit, and the white and gold clad villain held her bow in one hand. They strode towards Lord Kobra, unaware of the invisible Martian above them.

"Lord Kobra.(1)" Sportsmaster says. They stopped in front of Kobra's entourage, Cheshire and Shimmer glaring at each other and Mammoth dwarfing White Rabbit.

"Sportsmaster." Shimmer stepped up, and opened a metal box as Kobra continued "The shipment is ready."

Sportsmaster took a vial out and inspected the blue liquid.

"The new Kobra-Venom?"

"A complete success. Our friends will not be disappointed."

"This is a game-changer." Sportsmaster flipped the vial with ease. "Finally, we can go mano-a-mano with the Justice League."

Sportsmaster and his children were about to leave, but a pop of gunshots rang out from the warehouse. Mammoth sprinted off, and they heard his deafening roar before following him. Inside, the Young Justice team fought Mammoth and the cultists. Superboy was trading punches with mammoth, Aqualad was taking on cultists, and the rest of the sidekicks are nowhere to be seen.

Through the thermal goggles in her mask, White Rabbit could see a figure throwing cultists to the side. It must be Miss Martian. She looked to Sportsmaster, and it appeared that he could see her too, because he gave a nod. White Rabbit whipped out an arrow that had a small orange ringlet on the top and shot it at the girl. The arrow narrowly missed her, but Sportsmaster isn't stupid. He knows that Artemis could have hit the superhero.

The orange ringlet beeped, then exploded and threw Miss Martian to the side. After a few more seconds of battle, the intruders retreated. Mammoth and a few cultists ran after them, but returned empty-handed.

Sportsmaster sighed, this was the second time the whelps had gotten in his way. He and his daughters boarded the helicopter, but the engine sputtered and died. White Rabbit and Cheshire glanced at each other and began to search the helicopter for sabotage. They both just wanted this to be over.

After searching for a bit, Cheshire found that Robin had cut some wires in the control panel. White Rabbit handed her some tools from her seemingly infinite utility belt, and they were ready to go. They heard the unmistakable sound of a speedster, and Sportsmaster leaned into the helicopter, saying "Get ready to leave!", and then he grabbed a gun and ran back out.

Cheshire didn't need telling twice and sat in the pilot seat, gripping the wheel. White Rabbit hopped into the copilot seat, and they started the helicopter. They could hear the pop of gunfire, Mammoth's roar, and other sounds of battle that the duo could not name. Sportsmaster backed into the helicopter, and the villains were off.

Artemis silently sighed in relief. She took off her mask and shoved it in one of the larger pouches on her utility belt. Jade shot her a glance like she was thinking, _What are you doing, A?_

Artemis would have asked herself that question, but the white mask just felt suffocating. Also, Sportsmaster was in the back, so he wouldn't see her.

 _What was she doing?_

Artemis never wanted to be a villain. She never wanted to hurt anyone. She never wanted anyone to feel the pain and helplessness that she did at home. Artemis just wanted her dad back. She wanted the Lawrence Crock that her mom had told her about when he was in jail. She wanted the loyal man who her mom had fallen for, not the monster named Sportsmaster that had come back from Belle Reve.

Every time she slipped on the mask, Artemis did it to protect her father, to try to save him from becoming worse. But every time, there was nagging doubt that her dad was too far gone, and he was going to take her and Jade down with him.

After all, Artemis was just a huge hypocrite. Whenever Sportsmaster raised his hand against her mom or Jade, they had to escape, but whenever he hit her, he could still be saved. Artemis's loyalty would someday be her end.

A huge explosion shook the helicopter. Artemis shouted "Dad!"

"No, A, look." Jade grabbed her and pointed out the window. Sportsmaster was falling through the sky with a parachute pack on his back. She jerked the stick to the left, but the helicopter only spiraled.

"Shit!" Artemis's seatbelt was jammed. Jade pulled a dagger out of the folds of her costume and cut Artemis out. Artemis rammed the door with her shoulder, burning it a little on the hot metal. The sisters ran into the cargo hold, which was on fire. Artemis coughed at the smoke. She skidded to the rack of parachutes, but two out of the three were pierced by shrapnel. Artemis grabbed the third and shoved it into Jade's hands. Jade put it on, then realized that Artemis wasn't following suit.

"A, what are you doing?!"

"The other ones are ripped!"

"Mine can hold both of us!"

"You don't know that! Go!" Artemis screamed at her sister, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jade lunged and wrapped her arms around Artemis, pushing them both out of the plane.

Artemis couldn't hear her through the wind, but Jade shouted, "We're getting through this together!"

Artemis pulled the cord, and the parachute unfurled.

JJJJJJ

Two days later, Jade peered around the doorway of what used to be an abandoned building. Sportsmaster had filled the room with computer screens, which held white outlines of other people. Jade had been following him to the building for weeks now, peeking around the corner as Sportsmaster assembled the machines. Now he was finally done.

"All I managed to recover is a single vial of Kobra-Venom." Sportsmaster says to the screens.

"Peut-être… the formula can be reverse-engineered. Mias, what of these heroes?" _Is that a French accent?_ Jade thinks.

"First Cadmus, then Mister Twister. Now, Santa Prisca." The voice continues.

"Once is happenstance." another agrees, "twice is coincidence. But three times is enemy action, and enemies of the Light must not stand."

Jade shuddered and snuck away, speed walking towards her house. If Sportsmaster was associating with big-time villains, things would go downhill fast. She needed to protect Artemis, but Artemis still clung on to what Jade now knew was the childish delusion that Sportsmaster could still be saved. She slowed to a normal walk and pulled out her phone, dialing a familiar number. The phone rang until it went to voicemail.

" _Roy Harper here. Sorry I missed your call. Leave a message at the beep."_

 _-beep-_

"Hey Red, we might need to finish up the fallout plans soon. Meet me at the usual place? Love you. Bye."

Jade shoved her phone back into her pocket and hung her head. Things were going to get real crazy, real fast, and she needed to save Artemis from all of it.

 **AN: What's Jade planning? JK, I already know, but you can review and tell me what you think! Also, thanks to** _IAmTheLastDragonLord_ **from Archive of Our Own, your script was really useful. Btw, the reason Arty calls Dick 'Rob' is because the others do, and she just has grown accustomed to Dick pulling random shit.**

1: Most of the lines after this (except for Artemis and Jade's) were actual lines in _Drop Zone_.

 **Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey guys! This is somewhere after** _ **Drop Zone**_ **. I really love each review, so please take the time to share your thoughts with me.**

 _ **strangerways0**_ \- Why thank you! I bet you'll want to murder Sportsmaster after this chapter! (I don't know why I'm so happy about that tho…)

 _ **Mistycharming**_ \- I definitely agree. Thanks!

 **grungekitty** \- No prob. Hope your week was ok :) Thanks so much for reviewing!

 **Disclaimer: If I owned YJ, bluepulse would be canon. (Then again, there's always season 3)**

 **Sorry if anyone is OOC and hope u enjoy & pls follow, fave, & review.**

ASASAS

Artemis was still awake in the middle of the night, on July 25, because it was her birthday and she always stayed up for it. She was unlike others in the fact that she didn't enjoy her birthday. Like her opinion of Superman, it wasn't like Artemis hated the two things, but had developed negative feelings about them over time.

Everything was turning out to be a normal birthday, well, for a teenage supervillain, until _it_ happened.

Artemis was just barely awake, and she had to thank her advanced reflexes and years of training because otherwise, she would have gotten a bloody nose from a box that sped towards her head like a frisbee. The teen caught it and flipped the top open. The White Rabbit half-mask stared back at her. She looked up to the doorway, and Sportsmaster's silhouette was there.

"I have a mission. Don't wake up your sister. I'll be waiting on the roof." he half sneered, half growled.

Now that was weird. Sportsmaster usually took either Artemis and Jade on missions, or just Jade. Artemis put on the costume and got ready, then crept onto the roof.

The father and daughter leaped from roof to roof until they reached their destination: DUNN Labs. They stopped on the roof, and Sportsmaster ripped off the cover of a vent. He jumped down it, dropping to a crawl when the vent was horizontal. White Rabbit was right behind him, still puzzling over what exactly was going to happen. As they crawled through vents, White Rabbit found her solution to why Sportsmaster was acting strangely and remembered what happened to Cheshire when she turned fifteen, about two years ago.

Sportsmaster had taken Cheshire on a mission without Artemis. They came back an hour later, at nine o'clock. Jade had made a thirteen year old Artemis wear earplugs so she wouldn't have to hear her sister cry herself to a nightmare filled sleep. The earplugs didn't work, but Artemis never knew what happened. Until now.

The duo dropped out of the vents into the office of the CEO, who appeared to be finishing up some paperwork. His head snapped up when the criminals appeared, and his hand immediately went under his desk.

"I wouldn't press that button if I were you." Sportsmaster CEO stuttered an okay, and put his hands up. Sportsmaster drew a gun, and handed it handle-first to White Rabbit.

"Kill him, baby girl."

"Wh-what? I-I-" White Rabbit realized what was happening all too late. Everything clicked. Jade's birthday, the mission, everything.

"Do it. Don't think I didn't notice it. Missing the Martian, messing up the bomb you knew Robin would attempt to disarm." White Rabbit took a small step back, dropping the gun.

"I know you've been trying to keep your hands, you conscious clean. Kill him, or I will." Sportsmaster drew a wicked hunting knife, keeping his eyes on White Rabbit.

White Rabbit shakily picked up the gun. She needed someone to stop her. She needed someone, anyone to keep her from doing this. She didn't care if she got caught, she didn't care if a superhero burst in and arrested her now, because then she wouldn't have to kill the CEO. The CEO that probably had a family that was waiting for him to come home. Artemis prayed for someone to come, even if she didn't believe in any god. No one came. No one would come.

Artemis should have closed her eyes. She should have closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the bullet hit the CEO's skull. She should have closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the dark blood that pooled around him. She should have closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the life leave his. She should have closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Sportsmaster smile under his mask. Artemis kept them open the whole time.

All she felt was numb, like she wasn't in control of her body anymore. The muffled cries of a secretary who heard the gunshot and the door she slammed open barely registered. Artemis's training kicked in, and she spun around and shot her too. The muffled cries stopped.

Artemis dropped the gun and fired a grappling arrow through a tall window, shattering it. She ran as fast as she could, crying all the way home.

Sportsmaster chuckled drily, shaking his head slightly as he said "Just like her sister."

Artemis cried herself to sleep that night. She dreamt of her childhood, one thought ringing through her head:

 _Where did everything go wrong?_

 _Artemis was turning five and Jade was seven when their mother, Paula Crock, first told them about their father. She sat the sisters down and told the girls a story._

" _Once upon a time, there was a brave knight. But unlike the other knights, this one was a girl. Just like you-" she poked Artemis's nose and received some giggles. "and you." she turned and poked Jade's nose._

" _Our lady knight adventured around the world, and fell in love with a dashing knight, Sir Lawrence." The girls oohed and aahed._

" _Sir Lawrence was brave and loyal, and very handsome." Paula leaned forward in her wheelchair, wiggling her eyebrows._

" _The lady knight and Sir Lawrence traveled around the world together. Eventually, they got married, and built a kingdom of their own. The lady knight became a queen, and Sir Lawrence became King Lawrence. The two knights had two beautiful daughters, Princess Jade and Princess Artemis."_

" _Those are our names!" Artemis squealed._

" _Yes, they are. Anyways, just after Princess Artemis was born, dragons ambushed the lady knight and King Lawrence!" Paula flourished her arms for dramatic effect. Both girls gasped._

" _A vicious dragon with dark grey scales and great big black wings swooped in! King Lawrence valiantly drew his sword, but he knew he was overpowered."_

 _Artemis and Jade stared at their mother with wide eyes._

" _The lady knight attacked the dragon, but he threw her back. Her legs were hurt in the battle. King Lawrence put her on a horse and sent her home to look after the princesses. The king promised the lady knight that he would wage war on the dragons, and be back in six years."_

 _Paula looked up at the ceiling, then sadly smiled at her girls._

" _And King Lawrence did. He came back, good as new, and they lived happily ever after."_

 _She knew it was a lie, but Artemis and Jade didn't have to._

 _On Artemis's seventh birthday, Sportsmaster had returned home from jail for a year. Artemis and Jade never questioned his long absences and strange behavior. Lawrence Crock was long gone, but Artemis kept spinning lies and telling herself that he could be saved._

 _When Artemis turned nine, Sportsmaster had had the bright idea of making his daughters into weapons a little over a year ago, and Artemis's training had gotten harder. She regularly had bruises everywhere. That was when Artemis learned to hide behind a mask of sarcasm and nonchalance._

 _On July 25, 2006, Artemis was eleven. The girl snuck up the fire escape of a nearby building in the middle of the night. She screamed, yelled, and sobbed for Superman to save herself and her family. She thought that he would hear her with his super-hearing. Artemis's voice was gone by the time she went home. Superman never heard a word._

 _When Artemis was thirteen, Sportsmaster took a fifteen-year-old Jade on a mission. Jade was never the same afterwards, but only now did Artemis realize that it was because that was her first kill._

 _Now Artemis was turning fifteen, and she felt like she was damaged goods._

 _Where did everything go wrong?_

 **AN: Whew. That one was emotionally harrowing to write. Shoot me a review if you got some serious feels too. Anyone pick up on the backstory references in Paula Crock's story? Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Yay! Finished! Finally! Ugh. I drank too much coffee and now I've got jitters. But, like, the bad type of jitters where your mind moves to fast but you don't get anything done. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited. You guys keep me going :)**

 **Disclaimer: Me no own.**

JRJRJR

"That rat bastard!" Jade screamed to Roy. The two were in his apartment, Jade stomping back and forth.

"He made her do it! He fucking made her do it!"

Roy wisely stayed quiet, like he had been for the last few minutes.

"She had to go to fucking school six hours later!"

He grimaced. Roy had problems with Oliver Queen, his father figure, but Jade took the cake. Her poor sister!

Jade calmed a little and took a deep breath for what seemed to be the first time in many minutes. "Roy, I'm starting the fallout plans now."

Roy considered what would happen. Jade's plan to keep her mother and sister away from Sportsmaster was risky, but it wasn't like there was much they could do.

"Okay."

"Remember" Jade started, and Roy joined in on reciting their plan, "(Your) Mom pretends to have problems with her legs and checks herself into the hospital for a few weeks. After the jig is up for her, she can go into hiding and stay with Harry for a while." Harry was a bartender in Metropolis who was a friend of Jade's. His bar was close enough to the Hall of Justice that if Sportsmaster tracked them down, the Justice League would be there in an instant.

"Artemis will come stay with me. If things go wrong, I'll call Ollie and Dinah, and introduce her as my girlfriend's sister" That part was true. "Who happens to be on the archery team at her school, which is why she's so good with a bow." That part was not true.

Jade nodded.

"You'll lie low for a while, but after a month you'll come join me and Artemis."

"Okay. Thanks, Red." Jade hugged Roy tightly and kissed him, and then left to go put the fallout plans in action.

AJAJAJ

Artemis woke up to see Jade standing above her, all of Artemis's belongings packed into a backpack and duffel bag.

"What?" she intelligently asked.

"A, fallout plans. Mom's already gone, and Sportsmaster's at the pub."

"Oh. Okay."

Artemis pulled out her phone, knowing she wouldn't be able to text Dick for a while if he wanted to lay low, the freaking ninja detective that he was. She felt terrible about how she must have acted the day before at school. She was hollow all day, her actions still sinking in. Artemis shot Dick a text.

 _A: Hey Dick. Sorry I was weird yesterday. I just felt so hollow, empty. I did something bad, and I won't be at school tomorrow, or the day after that, or a while for that matter. Maybe forever. I'm a terrible person. I'm sorry, Dick._

 _-Artemis_

She shoved her phone in her pocket and grabbed her bags, leaving everything else behind.

DBDBDB

Dick was, above all else, worried. Artemis was acting strangely at school. When he and Barbara snuck a lighter into the school just to light Artemis's birthday cupcake for her, he hadn't even gotten a laugh. When he sang her Happy Birthday, she had burst into tears and run to the bathroom. When she reappeared in chemistry class, he asked her what was wrong. Artemis had said that nothing was wrong. That was a lie if Dick had ever heard one. It, however, did not answer his question. To top it all off, he had gotten a strange text from Artemis an hour ago.

When Dick first received the text, he had looked up from his homework and then read it. And reread it. And read it again.

Dick ran down into the Batcave, and attempted to use the text to get the location of Artemis's phone. Was she running away? What was the bad thing that Artemis had done? Was she okay?

The batcomputer notified him that it couldn't track down her location unless she texted him again. Dick slammed his fist down next to the mouse. He just had to blab on and on about how easy it was to hack iMessage.

Bruce stepped out of the elevator. He looked around the Batcave and saw Dick furiously typing at the batcomputer. His phone was discarded next to the mouse.

Bruce had come to grab Dick so they could go to, as Dick once put it, one of his 'rich people parties'. When he saw his adopted son at the computer with an intense look of worry, Bruce pulled out his phone and said "Alfred, tell Mrs. Jones that Dick and I won't make it to that party,"

He walked over to Dick, who immediately said "I can't go to Mrs. Jones's party now."

Bruce inwardly sighed because he was terrible at emotions, and looked at his son. Dick hadn't looked up from the computer, and was speedily creating in a program that appeared to be finding patterns in time stamps.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Dick pushed his phone to Bruce, not taking his eyes off of the code.

"Artemis."

Bruce remembered Artemis. She was Dick's best friend outside of his superhero life. Artemis was tall, blonde, and her Vietnamese face seemed to be permanently fixed in a scowl, except when Dick told her jokes and nerded out with her. Artemis didn't come over very often, and she seemed very guarded for a fifteen year old, but Bruce knew that she and Dick texted almost every night. Bruce, however, didn't stop the teens because he wanted to give Dick a bit of normalcy in the crazy life they both led.

He picked up the phone and read the text.

"I know something bad happened to her the night before last. Artemis hasn't texted me at all after 9:33 then, and she was really messed up yesterday at school. This morning, she sent me that." Wow, Dick _was_ very nervous.

"I asked her what was going on and if she was okay, and I know she saw my text, you can see it right there, but she won't answer." Dick pointed to a spot under the aforementioned text.

Bruce was about to question Dick about his friend's behavior yesterday, to try and help, but then Alfred called, telling him that Mrs. Jones had threatened to pull out her donation to the Martha Wayne foundation if he didn't come.

"It's okay. I can handle this." Dick reassured himself more than he reassured Bruce.

"Okay, just don't do anything stupid."

Dick spent half an hour programming, and the other half patrolling, looking for Artemis. Little did he know that she was already on a train to Star City, duffel bag in hand.

 **AN: Please, I can't tell you guys enough how much I treasure each and every review. If you have** _ **any**_ **suggestions, please, shoot me a review! Also, I'm thinking of trying my hand at one-shots. Got any ideas? Shoot me a PM or review if ya do! (Heh. It rhymes). I am a complete Marvel nerd, so I think I'd be good at that stuff.**

 **Quick question: Do you guys think this should be Spitfire, or Snaibsel, or just Gen? There definitely will be a little Supermartian, but I think it's too late for Birdflash (KF/Robin) or whatever Artemis/Robin is called.**

 **Anyways, remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

 **\/**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hey guys! I got back from March for Our Lives in my hometown. It's pretty cool that students put this all together, right? A huge thanks to** _JaggerK_ **, for catching my mistake about Star City and Central City. I thought since Star Labs was a Flash thing, y'know? Anyways, sorry if I confused you guys.**

 **Just so you know, this fic will** _ **definitely**_ **not be Artemis/Roy. They're just friends. Btw, sorry if Roy is OOC. Thanks for every follow, fave, and review!**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned YJ I would… probably crumble under the pressure. Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti are the coolest.**

ARARAR

Artemis dropped her duffel bag on the carpeted floor outside of an apartment. The apartment building was classy in the way that you wouldn't expect from a typical apartment building in Star City, but it didn't exactly scream, as Dick had called it, 'rich people building' either. Artemis decided that it was a safe medium. Then she decided to stop procrastinating.

Artemis knocked on the door twice.

A boy in his late teens opened the door. He had red hair and piercing green eyes and was a good head taller than Artemis. Suffice to say he was a little intimidating. Normally, she would put on her 'tough girl act' but Artemis was too burnt out. She had been that way for the last few days.

"Are you Roy Harper?"

Roy gave her a nod and helped her lug the duffel bag in. They flopped it on the couch and there was an awkward silence, followed by "So… J told me absolutely nothing about you."

Roy laughed a little. "Jade is very mysterious." he said wistfully.

 _Damn. They really are star-crossed_ , was all Artemis could think.

"What do you do, um, job-wise?" Artemis asked, sitting on the brown couch, next to her bag.

"I work at Queen Industries. Favorite superhero?" Roy lied.

Artemis grinned and considered for a moment. "Batman. Or Robin, I guess."

Roy groaned. "What about Red Arrow?"

"Red who?"

Roy groaned again, and muttered, "Freaking Gothamites."

"Hey!" Artemis yelped indignantly before throwing a pillow at Roy.

Roy caught the projectile and said "Okay, hmm… Any pet peeves?"

"Valley girls and humble-braggers. Duh. You?"

"When adults treat people like kids. Oh! And people mixing me up with this other guy at, um, school."

Artemis smiled. She had managed to hold a conversation with someone else for a couple of minutes without pissing them off or breaking down because of her fragile emotional state.

A maniacal grin spread across Artemis's face, one that was usually reserved for pulling pranks and/or hanging out with Dick. "I think you and I will get along nicely."

Artemis had morbid nightmares that night. Her mother was the CEO and Jade was the secretary. Then it was Dick and Mr. Wayne. Then Roy, and one of Dick's friends, a girl from school, a boy who Artemis played basketball with. They all died and it was all her fault.

Artemis shot upward with a gasp. Sportsmaster's laugh rang in her ears. She sleepily surveyed the room for a moment, and then remembered lugging her bag into the small extra room Roy had and flopping on the bed, instantly falling asleep. Artemis didn't want to fall back into the seemingly endless nightmares, so she climbed out of the simple bed. The teen blindly ruffled through her bag and slipped on some sweatpants. She cast a glance at the digital alarm clock and it read 11:02. Artemis had barely slept for an hour.

She padded down a short hall and walked into the kitchen/living room, and started brewing some coffee. There was no way in hell she was going back to sleep. The creak of wood came from the hallway, and Artemis flicked off the lights and hid in the shadows in a flash. She silently cursed the training Sportsmaster had given her; it prevented her from functioning like a normal fifteen-year-old.

Artemis stayed stock still and saw Roy's silhouette walk through the living room. It was too dark to get a good look at him. Roy opened the door to the fire escape and climbed up, the lock clicking behind him.

The former supervillain contemplated what could be happening, but then shrugged to herself. It didn't matter where Roy went in the middle of the night. He'd be fine.

Six hours later, Artemis began to rethink her position.

Artemis had emptied half of the pot of coffee and was sitting on the couch, facing the fire escape's doorway. She subconsciously rubbed her feet, which were sore from so much pacing. Artemis wanted to call someone, but who? Jade wouldn't be able to answer since she was laying low, and there was no point in calling Dick. He was just a civilian, and she didn't want him to get hurt. Artemis couldn't call nine-one-one. She had checked, 'Artemis Crock' was listed as a missing person in the inter-city police files.

Artemis perched on the couch, scrolling through her contact list. The glass door creaked open, and Roy's silhouette attempted to sneak in. Artemis sighed in relief and then scowled. She reached over the side of the couch and flicked on the light.

"What. The. Hell. Harper." Artemis paused for a second when she saw what Roy was wearing. It was a black, um, something, that had a red triangle-shaped top. It looked to be made of the same material as the White Rabbit outfit, and was that a quiver? Holy shit. Was Roy a supervillain? Or, even worse, a superhero?

Roy opened his mouth, but Artemis cut him off. "Explain. Now."

So Roy did. He sat down and told her about Speedy, and Red Arrow, and Young Justice. Artemis sipped her coffee in silence, which was even more terrifying than if she had said anything.

Roy told her about him and Green Arrow's fight and how he left. He explained about how he met Jade, and then about CADMUS and Superboy and the team. Artemis nodded and stayed quiet for a few seconds then came to a decision.

"If I can be a former supervillain, then you can be a superhero. J knows, and she trusts you. So- so I do too." Artemis stared at her hands, palms facing upwards.

Roy relaxed, and then looked up from the compound bow he was fiddling with. "Wait. Why were you up at eleven? I saw you fall asleep at ten."

Artemis looked to the side, grateful that the yellow light cast from the lamp hid her blush. "It's nothing. Just some nightmares."

Roy's face hardened. "Canary always says to talk about feelings. That's stupid. Grab your suit, and meet me on the roof."

"Um, okay." Artemis drained her coffee mug and pushed herself up off the couch. She went to her room and fished the shoebox and some flip-flops out of her bag, and followed Roy up the fire escape.

When she arrived on the roof, Roy was still in costume. He was holding two small jugs of gasoline and a cheap neon yellow lighter. The sky was starting to grey, as it was only five forty-five.

"Here, take this." He handed Artemis a jug that was barely thicker than her wrist and shorter than her forearm. She set it down on the cement roof next to her feet.

"And dump the box out on the ground." Artemis could see where this was going. The White Rabbit costume fell onto the ground, metal parts clinking. The teens started pouring their gasoline.

"Do we really need this much gasoline?" Artemis asked.

"No. But it makes the fire bigger."

Roy seemed to have experience with burning things. Artemis wasn't sure what to think about that.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Roy asked, handing Artemis the vibrant lighter.

Artemis took it, and flicked the lighter on. She stared into the lenses that were set in the White Rabbit mask's eye holes. Artemis could do this. She could burn it. Artemis repeated it over and over in her head, _I can do this, I can do this, I can do this_. So why wasn't she?

"I can't do this, Roy." Artemis flicked the lighter off and tossed it onto the soggy super suit. She turned around and walked down the fire escape, shivering in her sweatpants and flip-flops.

This time, Artemis was too tired to even dream.

 **AN: Wow, Roy, you angsty man. I have decided on a ship, but this fic will be mostly Gen, anyways, being the little demon I am, I won't tell you which ship.**

 _ **SUPER IMPORTANT: I NEED CODENAMES AND COSTUME IDEAS FOR ARTEMIS (I.E. Tigress, orange and black jumpsuit with tiger stripes and half mask.)**_

 **Any questions about this AU? Just ask. Also, I need a beta. Any pointers as to where to find one? Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Happy Easter! Sorry, this has to be fast. Okay, so,** _Guest_ **, I do have an update schedule. I update every Sunday, at around 12 (noon). Also, I literally finished yesterday, so sorry if it's not as good as the others. Ugh, I'm such a procrastinator.**

 **Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I do not own, so please don't sue.**

ARARAR

Artemis was undeniably experiencing the first few stages of cabin fever. At first, Artemis had been anxious. Jade had told her that Sportsmaster had allied himself with some of the biggest baddies in not just Gotham, but the world. 'The Light' as Jade had called them, had a huge influence and eyes everywhere. What if they found her?

Whenever Artemis asked herself those questions, she just remembered that the fallout plans were practically foolproof. To anyone else, it would appear that Artemis, Jade, and Paula Crock had disappeared off of the face of the planet.

At first she was anxious, but now Artemis was flat-out bored. She wouldn't dare go outside without sunglasses, a scarf, a jacket and various other layers obscuring her person. When Artemis first came to stay with Roy, Star City had been the perfect temperature for her disguise. Three days later, Artemis could only stay outside for an hour before she started boiling. Damn Star City weather. Artemis missed the Gotham weather. It was always dark and stormy, by at least it didn't change much.

Artemis was returning from one of her expeditions when her world was turned on its head again. Artemis had finally, finally gained normalcy in her life. On her little expeditions, Artemis would snag some coffee at a local cafe. There was a cute barista, Noah, that Artemis though might be flirting with her, but Artemis wasn't sure. Besides, it was nice to chat with him, even if their conversations only lasted a minute or so before someone else ordered their coffee. After that, she would sit down by the window on her favorite wooden barstool and check her texts. To be honest, Artemis was not sure why she kept scrolling through the texts. They were all from Dick, asking if she was okay and telling her that he missed her. It killed Artemis that she couldn't text back, but she reminded herself that he was just a civilian, and she didn't want to get him involved.

Once she had taken her daily dose of sadness, Artemis returned to the apartment.

Roy usually disappeared for obscure hours of the day. Artemis wanted to ask him why, but she didn't press him about it. Maybe she should have, but Artemis knew that he was entitled to his secrets. This time, however, Roy was already at the apartment. Artemis could tell because the light was on, mingling with the soft natural light of the sunbeams that shone through the wide window.

Artemis began taking off her jackets, laying them on the back of the couch. Roy stepped into the kitchen, opening the fridge halfway before seeing her.

"Oh- I have something for you."

Artemis turned with a "Hmm?"

Roy grabbed a black Adidas shoebox that Artemis hadn't noticed when she returned. It was similar to the Nike box that held the White Rabbit costume but subtly different. He handed over, and Artemis weaved around a lamp and flopped onto the couch. She flipped open the lid.

Inside was a Kevlar outfit, much like the White Rabbit one. It was orange, but unlike the White Rabbit costume, it covered her shoulders. The torso was slightly more heavily armored and black, and a golden gem gleamed on the neckpiece. Artemis wordlessly pulled it out and set it over her shoulder by the jackets. Left in the box were a bulky black utility belt and a half mask. The belt, surprisingly, was very similar to her old one. She checked in the pouches, and the contents were more or less the same, but it was all non-lethal. Artemis set it next to her on the brown leather couch cushions. Lastly, Artemis inspected the mask. It was definitely bigger than the White Rabbit one, and instead of rabbit ears it had spikes that were connected to the mask. Looking at each individual piece of the mask was a bit confusing, but when she (metaphorically) took a step back, it vaguely resembled a cat.

Roy answered Artemis's unsaid question. "I thought that you might want to go on patrol with me. As a superhero. Since you can't go out without a disguise."

Artemis silently stared at the mask.

"I had it designed like Huntress's costume. Patrol starts at in fifteen minutes, if you want to come." Roy cautiously backed out of the room, leaving Artemis to process things.

Hundreds of questions ran through Artemis's head. The most prominent was, 'Wait, what?'.

After a few seconds of shock, Artemis realized Roy's angle. She hadn't gotten out much, and if she kept staying inside as long as she had, Artemis was bound to go stir-crazy. Besides, helping out some civilians might balance her conscience. Might. But the cat-mask kept staring at her, and Artemis wasn't sure that she wanted to put any half mask on, whether a hero or a villain's.

Artemis messily dumped everything back in the Adidas box and brought it into her room. She pulled on the costume and buckled the belt, keeping the mask in her hands. When she turned to inspect herself in the mirror, Artemis jumped back. Her hair was a dark black instead of the usual blonde, and there were subtle changes too. Her chin was sharper, making her seem a little older, and when Artemis let out a breathless "Woah", it didn't sound as dry or raspy as her voice usually did.

Something warm was pressing against her neck, and Artemis looked down to see that the yellow gem was slightly glowing. So that was why she looked different.

 _You should probably stop staring at yourself and put the mask on,_ Artemis thought to herself.

"Oh, right." she muttered. Artemis looked down at the mask. This was the costume incident all over again. Then Artemis realized that the reason she was reluctant wasn't because of the mask, but because of the prospect of jumping from building to building, the Kevlar rubbing against her skin, and the cold mask on her face was too much like how it was during her time as White Rabbit.

Artemis took off the costume and put her civvies back on, then folded it neatly into the black shoebox. She kneeled down and slid it under the bed, right next to the orange Nike one. (Roy had gotten the gasoline out and washed it multiple times, but it still faintly smelled like petrol).

She walked into the living room, where Roy was standing in his costume.

"Thanks Roy, but I think I need to wait for my life to," Artemis paused, searching for words. "even out a little."

Roy nodded, and Artemis continued "But I'll keep it. Just in case."

AOAOAO

It was July 31, three days after Artemis had told Roy "Just in case."

Roy had been dragged out to ice cream by Artemis. The paparazzi that occasionally stalked Roy weren't there, thankfully, but the two were stopped multiple times by people asking for his autograph. She ordered chocolate and him mint chip, and they were talking like the best of friends. Artemis stopped to think that maybe she and Roy _were_ becoming best friends. Then everything went downhill. Two men and one woman burst into the shop, wearing classic burglar masks and pointing their guns at her and Roy. The two put their hands up, and Artemis looked to Roy, silently asking if she should try to take them out, and Roy answered with a miniscule shake of the head. The kidnappers took Roy out of the shop and put him in an old car, speeding off.

Artemis just sat there in shock for a moment. Then she shakily stood up, wanting to go after the kidnappers, to do something, anything. A gleam from Roy's seat caught her eye, and Artemis picked up his WayneTech phone. It must have fallen out of Roy's pocket while they were eating. It was still on.

Artemis remembered how Roy referred to Black Canary as Dinah, and Green Arrow as Ollie. Maybe she could call them! She scrolled through his contacts and selected the one called 'dinah'.

It rung four times, and Artemis hung up before she could hear the pre-recorded message. Artemis called the contact named 'ollie' next.

" _Um… Roy?"_

"Not Roy." Artemis quickly answered. She could practically feel the adrenaline bubbling through her veins. "You're Green Arrow, right?"

" _Why would you think I'm Green Arrow? Who is this?"_

"Shut up, Roy told me." Artemis covered her mouth after the words slipped out. She had just told _THE Oliver Queen_ to shut up.

Artemis stomached her panic and continued.

"Roy's been kidnapped."

 **AN: Thanks for all the responses! Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I had a crazy week guys! I just went to the ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) competition yesterday. Yea, I don't get the acronym either. In other news, I was watching Gotham and freaked out about catbat so much that I hit my head on the couch and gave myself a bruise. My nerdiness exceeds all bounds. Speaking of nerding out, make sure to check out my Tumblr,** _ask-x-men-apocalypse_ **!**

 **Disclaimer: I own it ALL! EVERYTHING! MUAHAHAHA! See? Nobody reads this stuff.**

OAOAOA

Oliver was in a business meeting when Roy called. A very _important_ business meeting. Oliver considered just ignoring Roy's call, but he knew that if he did he would have to face Dinah's wrath. So he excused himself, and answered the phone.

It wasn't Roy.

At first Ollie had been incredulous because how did this girl get Roy's phone?

" _Roy's been kidnapped."_

Well, that changed things. Oliver Queen strode down the hall to the secret elevator, and he could hear the girl on Roy's phone walking too. Now it was time to get down to business.

"Okay. Was he kidnapped as Roy Harper or Red Arrow?"

" _Um, Roy. Wh-"_

"Good. I'll meet you at his apartment." The elevator dinged and Ollie stepped into Arrow-cave.

" _How the hell is that good?"_

Oliver was starting to get irritated now. "It's better if he gets kidnapped as Roy Harper than as Red Arrow."

The girl mumbled an agreement.

"Okay, suit up. I'll meet you at Roy's apartment in thirty."

" _Sorry, what?"_

"Oh, I guess I can cut it down to twenty minutes if I rush." Ollie hopped on a motorcycle and started driving. Why, oh why, did Roy have to live on the other side of the city?

He paused, taking the phone from his ear and looking at it as if it had the answers, then returned it to its original position. "Wait, you are a superhero, right? I mean, all of the people that know Roy's identity are superheroes or people I know."

" _Um, yeah."_

AORAOR

Artemis shivered on the roof of Roy's apartment. She was wearing the superhero costume that Roy had given her. She still didn't want to be a superhero, but this was necessary. Artemis nervously checked the time; Oliver should arrive at any second. She ran her hands through her hair, which still felt like her normal hair, even if it looked different.

A thud sounded behind her, and Artemis spun around to see an arrow lodged in the fire escape's railing. It was a lot like White Rabbit's zipline arrow, but much safer, Artemis noted as the line pulled taut. The railing creaked and then a green blur shot up, landing next to her. Never in her life had she wanted to run so much. Artemis remembered what Sportsmaster had said about taking on leaguers.

 _Superman: Trick him into thinking you're a kid. Kryptonite arrow in the back left corner of the quiver. (I paid a lot for that, baby girl, so don't lose it)._ Artemis' hand reflexively went to the back left corner of her new quiver, and she remembered that the kryptonite arrow was still there- like all the rest of her old arrows.

 _Wonder Woman: Be nimble and don't stay in one place for a long time. Try to lose her on the rooftops. (Nobody had much information on Wonder Woman at the time, so Artemis had to analyze the news)._

 _Batman: Take out Robin first, it'll buy you some time. Don't make him ask himself too many questions about you, and don't say a word. Leave a bomb or something to distract him while you get away._

"Hey, Earth to, um, whoever you are."

Artemis snapped out of it to find herself face-to-face with Green Arrow.

 _Green Arrow: Don't underestimate him. If you have to fight, go to close combat. Your best chance is to outrun him. Lose him in the shadows, and check for trackers before you return to base. (Sportsmaster always called home 'Base'. Artemis never asked why.)_

Artemis only realized she had taken a step back with wide eyes when Green Arrow let out a "Shit! Sorry!"

She regained her composure and readjusted her mask. "No, my bad. Where do we start?"

"First, I need to know who you are. Wait… are you Roy's girlfriend?"

Artemis recoiled. "Um, I'm Cissie. Short for Suzanne." She mentally berated herself. What kind of name was that? "And… ew! God no! I'm his cousin!"

"I have a niece?" Green Arrow looked like the bewildered Oliver Queen that Artemis had often seen on TV.

"Well, not by blood… How are we going to find Roy?" Artemis wrenched the conversation to a different topic.

Green Arrow kneeled down and opened a small hologram that was connected to his glove. Artemis crouched down next to him, and looked at what appeared to be a map. The hologram was lime green and had a beeping blue dot that Artemis guessed was Roy.

"I had to get Robin to blackmail Batman into giving me this." Green Arrow remarked with a small chuckle. It seemed that the man thrived on bantering during missions. Artemis paused a little. Robin, blackmail Batman? She shivered to think about what would happen if she tried to blackmail Sportsmaster. How do you even blackmail Batman?

Green Arrow laughed, making Artemis realize that she had said that last sentence out loud. "Robin said that Batman should really find better places to make out with Catwoman."

Oh. Catwoman. Artemis remembered her. Sportsmaster had partnered with her to steal an alien artifact about two years ago. Looking back on it, Artemis guessed that that was how Sportsmaster won his place in The Light. Catwoman had pulled her aside and said "Look, bunny, your daddy is getting involved with the wrong people. I can get you and your sister a way out."

Artemis, now realizing that she had been a fool, had clenched her fists at her sides and glared at the woman and said "No. I can save him. And don't call me bunny."

It was only now that Artemis realized that she should have gone with the strange cat-burglar.

"Anyways, Roy had trackers in all of his jackets, so if he gets kidnapped in his civvies, which happens a lot, we can find him."

"Okay." Artemis nodded, and the two superheroes stood up. Green Arrow sprinted to the edge of the building, and cleared the whole jump. Artemis sucked in her breath and ran after him, following suit. As the jump was repeated over and over again, Artemis chewed her lip. Did she talk too much? Sportsmaster never liked it when she talked on the job. She had been lucky that Sportsmaster was too busy fighting Superboy to hear her talk to Kid Flash. But this wasn't Sportsmaster, so was she too silent? No, Artemis should be worrying about Roy. What if he was hurt? Artemis knew how painful getting hit with the butt of a gun could be. What if Roy wasn't even there? What if they never found him, but Sportsmaster found her, and the Justice League figured out who she was and then Sportsmaster took her made her kill Dick and mom and Jade and… no. They would find Roy.

Artemis pushed off the corner of yet another building with her wrong foot, which shook her out of her spiral of worry. She made it to the edge of the next building, but lost her balance. Everything felt like slow motion, Artemis' arms pinwheeled, and all she could think was, _Ohh. This is going to get hurt._

The only thing that hurt was her wrist being grabbed and pulled, and the only thing that Artemis could think was _What?_

Green Arrow helped Artemis onto the rooftop, and Artemis was in shock. Rule one of 'Sportsmaster Bootcamp' was to never help each other out if you didn't need to. If you fell, you deserved to fall.

Green Arrow turned to the opposite edge of the building, looked down, and then waved. Artemis followed him and peered over to see Roy standing outside of an abandoned building, waving back. Green Arrow and Artemis landed next to him.

"Hey," he paused "Tigress. What are _you_ doing here, Ollie?"

Well, at least Artemis didn't have to worry about a codename anymore.

Oliver crossed his arms and retorted "Coming to save your sorry ass. You nearly scared your cousin to death!"

Roy raised an eyebrow, as if to say, _Cousin?_ , and shot back "Well, I didn't need saving." He gestured to the open door, and Artemis saw the three kidnappers on the ground, presumably knocked out.

Artemis didn't listen to the rest of Roy and Oliver's argument, because a slow movement caught her eye. One of the kidnappers slid a gun to themselves, and for the second time, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The kidnapper cocked it, aimed it right at Roy's back, and Artemis saw it all.

So she tackled Roy out of the way.

 **AN: 'Kay, so if you look at the YJ timeline in the YJ Wikia and figure out which day this chappie takes place on (hint: look at chapter 8, 3rd paragraph), there's a lil easter egg. Even if it's a little late for Easter. Yeah, so tell me if im doing anything wrong, and remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**

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	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Thank you all so much for all the support. I really enjoy all of the reviews, and they are the reason this has gone for so long.**

 **Disclaimer: I claim dis.**

ARARAR

 _BANG!_

Artemis's head turned to stare at the kidnapper on the ground, the smoking gun. Her left shoulder jerked back, making her take a small step backward. Pain spread up her shoulder, a pain that she had never felt before. Sure, Sportsmaster had put her in situations where she'd get hurt, but he wasn't crazy enough to get Artemis shot. Well, at least not crazy enough to get Artemis shot with such a low-grade gun. The world seemed to turn, and Artemis stumbled backwards from the half-lunge that she had moved into to push Roy out of the path of the bullet. Roy jumped to his feet to catch Artemis. Wasn't he just lying on the ground a second ago?

Roy put his hand around Artemis's shoulders, which was a bad move. Her left shoulder screamed in pain, and Artemis yelped. He immediately let go, and she fell on him. Roy repositioned his arms and picked her up.

"Is that blood on y'r hand?" Artemis slurred a little, looking at the hand that had grabbed her left shoulder. A steady stream of curses appeared in the background, and Artemis's head lolled to the side to see Green Arrow, pacing back and forth.

Roy gritted his teeth and ground out a "Get Dinah." He looked ready to shout at Ollie for an hour straight, but he had better things to do.

He ran down the alleyway and two blocks down the street, then turned into another alleyway. Artemis desperately tried to keep her arm strung around Roy's neck to hold herself up. At least her shoulder had stopped hurting, but when she notified Roy of this, he just looked more worried. He threw open the door to a dusty old telephone booth and punched in some numbers. A computerized voice responded _Not recognized_ , and Roy muttered "Fuck. Can't get to the Watchtower."

Artemis dully wondered what a Watchtower was.

"Okay, okay," Roy mumbled to himself, punching in some different numbers.

 _Recognized: Speedy, B06. Recognized: Guest._

A blinding light filled the booth, and Artemis blinked her eyes to find herself in a huge cave. There was a green girl and the boy from the park- what was his name, Conrad? Both the green girl and football-guy's jaws dropped. Their eyes drifted to Artemis's shoulder. Was there something wrong with it? It didn't hurt anymore, but it was feeling very wet.

"Wait," Artemis told Roy, and he skidded to a stop. Aww, he did care.

Artemis peered at the green girl. She looked familiar, but Artemis was certain she didn't know any green people. Maybe she should take a closer look.

"Hey, Roy, s't me down." Artemis's voice seemed quieter than normal. She wondered why.

"A- Tigress, we need to get to the med bay. Now." Roy looked confused and very stressed. Artemis wanted to know who Tigress was, but doy! Tigress was her. Artemis was a superhero. Coooool.

Artemis then snapped back to the task at hand.

"Set me the hell down, Harper."

Roy didn't move, so Artemis pushed herself out of his arms, boots hitting the wet floor. Uh-oh, they were going to be stained red now. Red from what, Artemis did not know. She took one small step, hardly an inch forward, then promptly blacked out.

Well, fuck. Roy had some explaining to do.

AMCAMC

Artemis woke up with a splitting headache and a dull throbbing in her shoulder- no, a dull throbbing everywhere. Just because it was dull, however, did not mean it didn't hurt like hell. She surveyed her surroundings. She definitely wasn't in Roy's apartment anymore. She tried to remember what had happened, ignoring her head's protest.

So… Roy got kidnapped, then she called Green Arrow. Artemis inwardly cringed when she recalled the following conversation. Then she put on the Tigress suit, which she was not wearing now, Artemis noted. Anyways, she and Green Arrow had found Roy, and then there was a gunshot and the rest was fuzzy. Artemis did vaguely remember a cave and the football guy who was Dick's friend, but she wasn't sure what that was about.

Artemis tried to push herself up from the hospital-like bed that she was laying on. When she put her weight on her arms, they buckled and the left one felt like it was on fire. Artemis immediately fell back down.

Her second attempt was much more successful. Artemis didn't use her left arm, and by extension, her left shoulder. She stood on wobbly legs and tried to make it to the door. The gentle warmth on her neck reminded Artemis that her identity was safe. What had her fake name been? Oh. Cissie. Artemis resisted the urge to facepalm. She wobbled out of the room, grateful for things to lean on as she turned and stumbled down the hallway.

Artemis stopped when two voices turned out of what seemed to be a kitchen.

"Are you sure she's awake, M'gann?" A guy's voice sounded. _Football guy's_ voice. So Artemis hadn't been hallucinating.

"Yes. I can recognize the difference between sleeping brains and awake ones." Woah. Okay, that must be the Martian.

Artemis turned another corner and almost ran into the green girl and football guy from before.

"Hi! I'm M'gann, and this is Conner." the green girl jubilantly waved.

M'gann and Conner. Megan and Conner. Princess and football guy. What kind of people was Dick hanging out with? Not just a supervillain, apparently.

 _Shit. I have to find Roy._

Megan pointed down the corridor, reading her mind. "He's right down there."

"Thanks, yeah, I have to go." Artemis stuttered, then she left.

Artemis was about to walk into the big entrance cave she had… teleported into? Her memories were a little fuzzy, probably because of blood loss, Artemis added, seeing the bloody rags on the ground, mid clean-up. She could hear Roy's voice, and she almost went into the big chamber, but another voice stopped her. Dick's.

"I understand that you had to take her here, but you practically traumatized Conner and M'gann." he was saying. So Dick knew that princess and football guy were superheroes. Princess and football guy seemed to be coping well enough.

"Where else was I supposed to bring them, the Watchtower?" Roy's angry voice answered.

Artemis didn't hear Dick's reply because she peeked around and saw Robin. With Dick's voice. Everything clicked into place.

Artemis knew who Robin was.

 **AN: Also, the Easter egg was that the last chapter took place on July 31, which is when Artemis started being the superhero Artemis. Thank you, YJ wikia! Remember, reviews are imagination fuel! See you next time!**


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